A Queen, A Savior
by hayleynymphadora
Summary: Set in the Enchanted Forest, no curse, no original saving of Snow White, none of that. Regina is forced to marry and abusive King meanwhile her mother casts a non-aging spell on Regina and her dear husband. Emma grows up a stubborn princess and daughter to Snow and David. Promised SwanQueen, eventually. Rated M just to be safe, due to abuse and language, and occasional violence.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my newest SwanQueen idea, and YES it will be SwanQueen.**

**This story has more of a serious tone, and I warn you now, that Regina's King does abuse her to start out with. It's extremely sad and hard to write but it's needed for the story.**

**Stick with me on this-i know it's going to turn out great and it's already so incredible to write.**

**Unfortunately for me, I don't own Once Upon A Time (if i did SwanQueen would have been canon from Episode 1.)**

**Review for me? I'd really like to know you you think!**

**Note that constructive criticism is different from tearing the story down.**

**and if you don't like SwanQueen-don't read the story.**

**This is not a smut story by any means but i'm rating it M just in case.**

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Chapter 1:

Regina sat at her mirror in the bedroom she shared with the King, slowly dragging a brush through her long black hair. She shivered, lightly. Though her dress was long and so were the sleeves, the room was still a little cold. There was a bit of heat emitting from the fire place, but it didn't help much.

The bedroom wasn't exactly large—though her husband was a king, he wasn't of a major Kingdom. No king such as someone like King Leopold, (who had just lost his dear wife only months before Regina's engagement—how Regina's mother Cora had hoped and prayed for King Leopold to ask for Regina's hand, aware it was a long shot).

It was a shame to Cora, really, that Regina's husband couldn't have had more power—been a bit more influential in the magical world. All Cora had ever wanted for Regina was power, strength, and wealth. The three things Cora had been denied of, being the miller's daughter.

Though Regina was only seventeen, when King Arik Valentin asked for her hand in marriage her mother accepted for her immediately, to Regina's dismay. Despite pointless efforts of Cora's constant badgering, Regina had no interest in power or wealth, and absolutely no interest in the king, who was a good twenty years older than she.

So Regina let out a deep sigh as she untangled her long and enchanting locks, wishing for the billionth time that week that she hadn't been abandoned by the one man she had thought she loved. She wished her mother hadn't scared Daniel away with her ruthless behavior and talk of a higher social class.

_Like she's better than everybody._ Regina thought a bit sullenly. _ As if I'm above loving a stable boy. Why couldn't she have left well enough alone? At least I would have led a more enjoyable life; poor or not wouldn't have mattered to me. It doesn't matter._

There was a knock at the hard wood door, interrupting the Queen's thoughts. Slowly, she gathered her thick hair into a bun on her head and pinned it there, setting down her brush.

"You may enter," she allowed. One of the servants did so, bowing as she spotted Regina.

Regina let out a soft sigh. "I've told you, Ashlyn, you need not to bow to me if we're alone."

Ashlyn the servant stood from her bow. "Yes, your majesty. King Valentin sent me to fetch you for dinner,"

Inwardly, Regina cursed herself for letting the time get away from her again. She spent too much time thinking about Daniel. It had been a year already—she knew he wasn't going to come back. She stood with her heart pounding. Her King would not be pleased that she was late for yet another meal.

As she sat down at the long table with her parents and husband of six months, she was upset to find that he did look very frustrated with her. She tried to feign a small apologetic smile. Her smile was neither accepted nor was it acknowledged. Instead, Arik grumbled, "You're late, Regina. Again, you are late. There should be no reason as to why you are always late."

Regina tried not to wince at the sound of his anger; he was a large man, Arik, and much larger than she. It was more often than not that when they were alone in their bedroom Regina paid for her "un-Queen-like actions" of the day. Virtually everything she did seemed like the wrong thing to do. These days, she couldn't breathe without being scolded by her mother or worse by Arik. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that if she wasn't careful he may beat her to death. Had her mother not captured power by obtaining magic from Rumplestiltskin –if not for her family's gold and Regina's gorgeous features—he would not have married her at all. There was no love between them—but that didn't stop him from using her every night for his pleasure. It actually terrified her to be alone with him.

What she really wanted to say, "A Queen is never late—everyone else is simply early," she very well knew she could not risk. Had it been Queendom, yes, she could say whatever she pleased. But in this castle, where she lived, in this Kingdom, the King was in charge. It was Regina's job to do as he told her and be his love toy; no more, no less.

She despised her mother for forcing this cruel fate upon her.

"It is not lady like nor is it proper to be always tardy," he spoke again. Superficially, Regina seemed poised and unfazed by his harsh tone. On the inside she wanted to curl up and hide—cry, really. She wanted to cry—but she recognized that no good could ever come from tears and anyways it would hurt her more than help her.

"You have my deepest apologies, my King." Regina finally spoke. "Time seems to have escaped me, and—"

"Yes," Arik chewed his meal, looking carnivorous as ever. "That was your excuse the last time. As well as the time before."

_It is the truth!_ Regina thought heatedly to herself. _This is nonsense. A Queen should not have to fear her own husband. She should not tremble at the thought of sleeping in her own bed._

What she said aloud was, "I'll not let my mind wander once more,"

"You'll be sure of it," his tone implied what she had worried he meant. She would likely earn the same punishment, if not worse, than she had received the last time she had done something he didn't find appropriate.

_As if anything he does to me is ever appropriate._

Cora and Henry just sat silently, allowing husband and wife to speak. Cora saw the fear in her daughter's eyes and shoved it aside. This was for the greater good. She needed to learn to rule with an iron fist, like Arik did. All he was doing was teaching her to be a fine Queen, and though his words could sometimes sound rough, he seemed fair.

Regina ate her dinner slowly, yet quickly recognized that delaying may worsen the situation.

As much as Regina hated to admit it to even herself, she was afraid. Afraid mostly of his power, what she knew he was capable of doing, and of what she knew was expected of her, even at such a young age as seventeen.

It wasn't as if she had never expressed such emotions to Cora so much as it was that Cora never once listened. She got the same response every time, "Whether you are Queen or not, Regina, speaking ill of your King in that way qualifies as treason. You should learn to keep your opinions to yourself if you know what's best for you."

Her words were loosely translated to what Regina knew was meant to mean, "You will rule with Arik, he will teach you to be stronger and wiser and more courageous and it is what's best for you if you want to be everything I need you to be."

_But I don't want power, or glory. I only wish for true love._

After dinner, the king excused himself and his Queen to their bed chambers. Regina's stomach knotted tightly. She was seventeen. She was young, _too_ young and he was about to do things that she shouldn't have been forced to do—not when she wasn't even qualified as an adult.

Arik shut the door tightly and she faced the bed; her heart pounding ever so rapidly she feared it may actually fall out of her chest. No matter what she tried, she could not control it—could not relax herself before he noticed her.

"You fear me, woman?" his voice was low and dark.

Regina took a deep breath and swallowed, outwardly keeping her composure. "Of course not, my King,"

"You lie," he retorted, taking her small arms in his strong grip. A squeak caught in her throat. She willed herself not to fight him. After six months of dealing with this, she hated herself for not being used to him by now, but every time he touched her she got frightened all over again. It wasn't like Regina to be frightened—not so easily, anyways.

Arik's grip tightened and Regina tried to remain impassive, tilting her head back and allowing him to kiss her neck. His kiss was rough and wet and she detested it with a deep passion but dared say not a word—move not an inch. His fingers moved slowly to the back of her dress and he unlaced it. After which Regina became numb, knowing the routine by now and giving into it. She had learned from the beginning that the more she fought it the more it would hurt her. What made the pain even more unbearable was that his touch never turned her on to him, only ever frightened her, and though it was something she was learning to cope with, that didn't make her any less broken when he was done taking his pleasure in her.

After he had finished with her for the night (she had been as quiet as she could, afraid of what he'd do if so much as a whimper escaped her) he flipped her roughly to face him and grabbed her waist tightly, squeezing it as he spoke to her. His large fingers were definitely leaving bruises but he was wise about the placement of such marks—these ones would always be hidden by her clothing, only to ever be seen by him.

"I grow tired of your games, Regina. I don't care how old you are, I will not dismiss you anymore. You are my wife, you are the Queen, and you will act like it. Am I understood?" his fingers dug deeper into her skin and her breath caught. Any harder and he could have very easily snapped a rib or more in her body.

"Yes, Arik, I'll do as is expected of me," a single tear slid down her cheek against her will and luckily for her, he dismissed the "sign of weakness" as he was too distracted with trying to get his point across to her.

"Promise it to me, now. Swear to it, Regina," he growled. "You will be the best Queen you can be—the best wife you can be—and I will no longer take anything less than that."

A bead of sweat dripped down her naked back even though she was shivering and she was fairly certain that she was bleeding again where blood should only appear once a certain time of month. She ached horribly and wished for nothing but an end to this torture.

She missed Daniel's light touch to her body, and his gentle yet energetic kisses which they used to sneak between meals and tea times. She missed how he made love to her the way a man should—tender and kind—as opposed to the barbaric way that Arik always took her. She knew that she was trapped.

Broken and trapped.

"I promise, Arik," she gasped out. "I swear to it, I will be your ideal Queen—your ideal—wife—"

He relinquished his hold on her and stood from the bed, redressing carefully. He looked down at the sheets behind him and rolled his eyes. "You're bleeding," he said with such utter annoyance—as if it was her fault that he was so brutal with such a small and breakable woman.

Regina knew she need not bother to look down. She merely closed her eyes in able to compose herself, willing the tears stinging the backs of her eyelids not to spill over else she knew she'd likely be hit.

"I'll be going to the tavern," he announced and left without saying another word to her. She assumed he would be in a drunken state when he returned and prayed he would be too tired to hurt her any further.

_What, my love, no kiss fare the well?_Regina thought bitterly, forcing herself into a sitting position despite such discomfort and eventually, with some difficulty, she managed to stand. Finding a nightdress draped over the chair in front of her mirror—the one where she had rested so peacefully to comb through her hair and reminisce about Daniel so few hours ago—she slipped it on over her body and rung the bell to signal for Ashlyn to come.

The servant girl was at the door almost immediately. "Your majesty?" Ashlyn remembered this time not to bow, however still tilted her head down, slightly.

People were always calling her that—"your majesty" and "Queen Valentin", and she supposed they did so because according to the Kingdom that's what she was. However Regina had never felt like royalty a day in her life.

"Draw me a warm bath, Ashlyn, would you please, dear?" Regina managed to speak without bursting into a fit of choked sobs. "And I'm afraid these sheets must be replaced…once again…"

"Yes, my Queen," was what she heard as a response.

. . .

Regina removed the night dress with careful hands and stood in front of a body-length mirror by the wash tub and examined her wounds from the night's previous actions. Indeed, dark, grotesque-looking finger marks formed as large bruises on both sides of her waist but that was the only physical damage that was noticeable to the human eye. It was all that was noticeable to her eye, in any case. She inhaled sharply and regretted the action immensely—she was obviously quite internally bruised. It felt to her as if someone had taken a very heavy block and pounded it against her being as hard as they were capable of doing. She couldn't complain though, for she was very aware that he could have done much worse and probably would have, had his intentions to intoxicate himself not taken over his want to cause her pain.

With a long exhale of air, forced, mind you, and a slight wince at the stab of pain said action caused her, Regina let her hair down and watched as it cascaded down her back. Cautiously, she stepped into the tub of warm water and lowered herself in, biting her fist to suppress a groan and wondering if it would ever get easier to live in such conditions. She figured it was going to have to be. She was stuck like this now—there was no way out.

. . .

Arik returned home very early into the morning and Regina was fast asleep on her side of the bed, curled up into a fetal position. She looked frightened to death and this fact pleased her King. It was far better to be feared than loved, especially when he was raised to rule with an iron fist. His Queen would learn to obey—she would learn that he was not to be made a fool or embarrassment out of when she was late for a meal or spoke her opinion.

He was drunk and sleepy and he collapsed onto the bed and turned to face her, half tempted to wake her and take her one last time. But he didn't have the energy to do such things. Instead, he reached out in front of him and smacked her rear, forcefully.

Regina woke with a start, her eyes widened in shock. Arik had quite obviously returned and was ready to please himself with her once more. She froze, thinking to herself that perhaps if he thought her to still be asleep, he would just leave her be.

It was all he needed to do to get his point across—he watched as her body tensed and he knew she got the message.

She closed her eyes quickly and held herself closer, her muscles tightened and throbbing. She fell asleep thankful—he didn't touch her again.

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**so...thoughts? please? Chapter 2 will be up soon. ~~hayleynymphadora**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this took longer than i expected! I'm working on a bunch of SQ stuff right now, and realized I had this finished but never posted it...my bad...**

**I don't own ONCE, to my dismay.**

**tell me what you think!**

**~~hayleynymphadora**

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Chapter 2:

(Twenty three years later)

Emma Charming glared at the beautiful white horse standing in front of her. It wasn't false that she had always wanted to learn to ride, she just detested that it had to be in this way. "Can I not just walk to the village?" she complained to her parents.

David Charming, Emma's father, rolled his eyes. "Come now, Emma. Don't act as if you haven't spent sixteen years of your life wishing to ride Melody over here…" he patted the horse lightly and stroked her mane lovingly.

_Melody. The most pathetic and feminine name for such a strong and majestic horse that my ears have ever heard._ Emma thought to herself, pulling at her dress to fix it back into its rightful place. She absolutely loathed wearing dresses and when she was alone in the castle she could quite often get away with wearing trousers, but since she was outside where any passing villager could see her, Snow had insisted she wear a dress, believing that not doing so would be improper.

Knowing the story of her parents, Queen Snow White and King David Charming she could help not but to wonder what gave her mother the right to be so hypocritical. Really, must everything be so proper, just because they were royals? Emma thought not, though very few shared her opinion on the matter.

Snow was already on her own noble steed, smiling down at Emma. "Come now," she agreed with David, coaxing her daughter. "I'll teach you to ride side-saddle with me,"

"No," Emma refused her parents and it most certainly was not the first time she did so. She yanked back the skirts of her dress to reveal a pair of black riding pants she had snuck on, to her mother's annoyance. At this point it was Snow who rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Emma—"

"If I'm to learn to ride, I'm to ride like a Knight, not a damsel in distress,"

David and Snow cast each other weary glances. They had gone over situations similar to this on numerous occasions throughout their daughter's life. She never wished to be regal, nor did she ever act upon her expected duties as Princess. She did as she was told…rarely; using the mindset that one didn't have to act prim and proper to be a respected royal. It was bothersome to her when she was told to act more like her mother because she was her own separate person. She was most certainly _not _her mother. Emma was free spirited and there was a part in her parents that respected that, which was the largest reason they let her get away with all that she did.

"You are a lady, Emma," Snow reminded her, not unkindly. "You are a princess."

"I am a woman," Emma wrapped one leg around each side of the horse. She looked David in the eye. "Are you going to teach me to ride or not, father?" she raised an eyebrow, her lips forming a small smirk.

. . .

Regina did her best not to cringe when she hoisted herself up to her dark black steed. "Easy now," she whispered. "If you please?" she added in as a quick afterthought.

"Talking to horses again I see?" Arik passed her and she straightened up, no matter how much pain she was in. Throughout the long years of being wife to Arik, her pain tolerance grew stronger and she grew aware of her actions and much more mature. That didn't mean her whole body was not still throbbing from when he struck her and took her the night before.

Though Regina's beauty would likely be timeless, the fact that she was still seventeen in appearance and full of youth seemed to make Arik a bit easier on her—because at least, he thought, she was still attractive and had the energy of a teenager.

Cora had cast a spell, approximately seven moons after the wedding of Arik and Regina had taken place. This spell only affected herself, Henry, Arik, and of course Regina. It froze their ages in time and Regina could hardly bare it—stuck at seventeen, in this position, for so long? Death, at least, would have been more peaceful, as well as far less painful.

Arik noted the way Regina rested on her steed; side saddle. After a moments' contemplation and some devious thought, he shook his head slowly. "No, Regina. Today you will ride like a man."

_Whatever for?!_

Baffled, Regina was at a loss for an appropriate response. She was aware that wrapping a leg around each side had excellent odds to force a scream out of her—especially if they were to take a rough trail, which, with her luck, was most likely. Secondly, she was disgusted by the fact that he wanted his Queen to be seen riding like a man in such a dress. Clearly, Arik had made a mistake in judgment.

"I fail to see the benefit of risking villagers seeing their Queen riding in such a way." She spoke up and immediately thought it too bold, regretting even thinking such a thing.

It seemed the whole world went still as the tension between husband and wife thickened. Where a cool autumn breeze blew moments before, there was none; however a shiver still swept down Regina's spine. She grew slightly nervous and a huge gust of wind suddenly took over the forest where they stood. Trees shook furiously and leaves were swirling upward, sky-bound. A few even landed in Regina's hair and she cursed herself again for not yet being able to control the magic that Rumplestiltskin had been teaching her about. She was aware that the magic was in her veins and she was upset that she had little control over it so far into her studies.

Arik approached her slowly, pulling a leaf out of her hair, which today was down and very slightly bushy but beautifully so. Her hair had not grown since Cora cast that "curse" (as Regina often referred to it), but it was still well past chest length—almost reaching her waist.

Did Arik care about her beauty? It helped, but vaguely.

"Do you? Fail to see benefit, that is?" he wore a scowl as his expression. Arik always was scowling; his voice always daring her to respond.

Reaching into the leather bag which was attached by clasps to the saddle of his steed, he pulled out a pair of riding pants and threw them at Regina. She blinked rapidly, attempting to comprehend.

"They are from Cora," he explained to her. "You are to wear them under your dress."

Regina hesitated; if the pants were from her mother, she couldn't imagine them the slightest bit comfortable nor did she want to consider the possibility that Cora had enchanted them in some way. She would almost rather just ride in the dress. Her hesitation cost her and Arik struck her across the face.

She blinked again, her cheek stinging.

"Don't waste my precious time, woman!" he practically bellowed in the young girl's face before turning back to his steed and attending to his saddle. "Put on the damn riding trousers before I really give you something to complain about."

Silently, Regina did as she was told and mounted her horse awkwardly—not allowing her expression to show the amount of agony she was truly in.

"Today we ride to the northern lands. We are to visit King Charming's kingdom for the remainder of the month."

Everything was starting to make sense to Regina now as actions fell into place. It was of course why she had been told to pack for their journey, though did not explain why their luggage was in the carriage behind them and they themselves were not. She counted out days in her head and nearly let a gasp escape her. What business did they have with King David and Queen Snow for so long of a time period? She didn't bother to ask; she was aware Arik would not respond to her.

They rode in silence and she risked wincing with every other step. He let her make the damn facial expressions.

_What bother is it to me, really, unless I'm bedding her?_ He thought smugly. _I'll let the woman announce her discomfort—at least until we reach the kingdom._

Regina was well aware of the little time she had to prepare herself to be presentable to the King and Queen and Princess of the northern lands. Slowly but steadily she grew used to the trotting of her steed and was able to stop showing her pain through her features. However she noticed herself correct about the pants—Cora had made them one size too small, squeezing Regina's legs tightly and forcing more discomfort which she ignored to the best of her ability. She had felt worse before and knew she'd survive all of this somehow, someday. Her hope was lost slowly as each year had passed. These days she recognized that all she could do was fake a grin and bare it.

It took most of the day to reach King Charming's castle, leaving Regina weak and exhausted, however she showed no sign of any such feelings. She had never in fact met King David, Queen Snow, or their daughter, Emma. All she knew was their names and a bit about their run as royals. King Leopold, Queen Snow's father, had been the ruler of the kingdom before a heart attack caused his untimely death and forced Snow and David to take his place. Ever since, they had ruled over the kingdom together kindly. Regina aspired to make a good impression on them.

King and Queen Valentin finally made it to the northern castle which was waiting for them, large and beautiful. King Charming, Queen Snow, and Princess Emma were standing at the gates, waiting for their guests to arrive. Earlier in the day, Snow and David had talked to Emma about the King and Queen's arrival.

"The Valentin's will be staying with us for a while, Emma," Snow announced over lunch. "The Queen, Regina, she's only a year older than you are."

David seemed puzzled and looked at his wife, quizzically. "How is that so? The two of them have ruled the southern Kingdom for nearly twenty four years, have they not? Or is my information faulty?"

"Mmm. They have ruled for nearly twenty four years; however her mother, Cora, has a curse cast on them—Regina's been seventeen for far too long. I pity her, really. I couldn't imagine being stuck at that age. Such a difficult age…"

"Are you hinting I should be married by next year because Queen Valentin is somewhat seventeen?" Emma couldn't stop herself from wondering aloud.

"Emma, no, goodness, that isn't what I'm trying to say. I'm merely informing you that she'll be staying with us for the remainder of the month, as well as her husband, Arik. We have strategies to discuss."

"Are you referring to battle strategies?" Emma never knew just when she was to keep her mouth shut.

Snow shifted uncomfortably and ignored her daughter's pestering. "They'll be staying in the guest bedroom down the hall from yours, Emma, and I expect you to be more than cordial to them. This is the first they've left their kingdom in a very long time."

"Why is it they didn't simply stay there and rule? I'm sure strategies could've been discussed through letters."

"Play fair," David warned her and that was the end of it.

Now they stood at the gates, watching as Queen Regina and King Arik walked their noble steeds up to the front gate, looking more professional than Emma had ever felt in her life. The princess smoothed her dress down in irritation. Her mother had insisted she wear the damn thing, and refused to let her fashion any pants underneath.

_Why? It isn't as if they're going to be staring up my dress…_ Emma thought bitterly to herself. She refused to act like anything she was not, and she cared not who was spending the remaining month with her and her family. So what if this woman was a queen and her husband a king? She was a princess, and she was who she was. Not exactly regal, not particularly not and that was how she preferred to live her life. The moment dinner was over she was planning on changing back into pants again.

When Queen Regina's eyes met Emma's they seemed emotionless. Cold. But there was something else there that Emma couldn't help but to notice. A kindness, perhaps? It seemed as if the Queen had secrets. She inclined her head to Emma and Emma did the same, however Regina did not speak, so Emma said something first.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Valentin,"

"Please, you may call me Regina," she gave the princess a small smile.

Emma had to admit, when she had first heard that the King and Queen were to arrive, she was less than thrilled and much more frustrated. Whenever there was company around she was expected to act much more proper than she cared to act. But as she watched Regina's careful steps, her rigid movements, she was interested in spending time trying to see what made this Queen tick. The woman was quite obviously full of mystery and Emma looked forward to spending some time with her.

She was admittedly gorgeous, Regina.

Her very long black hair was down and parts of it braided and pinned. There was a scar on the top of her lip and Emma couldn't quite help but wonder how it got there. It was endearing. The Queen's eyes were dark and brown and lovely. Emma wasn't quite sure how to feel about her.

Regina's deep brown eyes met Princess Emma's suspicious blue ones. Her long but admittedly very pretty blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders. Regina had never seen anyone with blonde hair, but she thought it was very nice. Emma looked as though she was quite mischievous and it gave Regina pause. Staying with this family would be interesting.


End file.
